DA: Norco murder scene was doorway into hell (Video)

Staff Photo By Vinny Tennis
District Attorney Tom Hogan holds up a knife during a press conference announcing the arrest of Shakeem L. Carter at the Chester County Justice Center in West Chester on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Carter, 20, Norristown was charged Wednesday morning for the murder of 17-year-old Kevin Allen in North Coventry on Feb. 12. Allen was stabbed over 20 time, his throat slit, and then lit on fire.

WEST CHESTER — Officials gathered Wednesday at the Chester County District Attorney’s Office to announce an arrest in the Feb. 12 murder of 17-year-old Kevin Allen in North Coventry.

Shakeem Carter, 20, of Norristown, was arraigned Wednesday morning after an investigation concluded he was responsible for the brutal stabbing death of the Norristown High School student inside his father’s home at the Hanover Garden Apartments, officials said.

Allen’s body was discovered on Feb. 12 after a neighbor dialed 911 to report a “terrible struggle,” according to Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan. Officers from the North Coventry Police Department were the first to enter the apartment, but they had to retreat when they discovered that the apartment was on fire. Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames, but when they returned they told police there was a body inside.

“When we opened up that door into apartment 127, that was the doorway into hell,” Hogan said. “There was blood covering the stairs, there was blood covering the door itself, and on the walls on either side there was blood spatter cast off from the struggle that had happened.”

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Inside, investigators found that the apartment’s master bedroom had been fully engulfed by flames, they also found Allen’s body lying face down on the living room floor.

“The condition of the body was terrible,” Hogan said. “He had been stabbed over 20 times. He had been stabbed in the back far enough through to hit vital organs. He had been stabbed in the neck, he had been stabbed in the head and at least one of the stab wounds pierced his skull. His throat had been cut from the midline all the way across, and the back of his body had been burned.”

Three knives, covered in blood, were found inside the apartment. One of the weapons, a butcher’s knife, was bent by the force of the blows that killed Allen. Investigators also found two empty bottles of cooking oil that was used to set Allen’s body on fire.

Investigators began to question Allen’s family in an effort to put together the pieces that led to the teen’s murder. Searching for a motive, they interviewed Allen’s father, who provided detectives with some important clues.

Allen’s father had just received his tax return, Hogan said, and he told his son that he was leaving $350 dollars for him so he could buy some new clothes. Allen last spoke to his father around 5 p.m. on the night of his death, when he told his father that he was on a SEPTA bus headed toward their North Coventry apartment.

“This was a robbery,” Hogan said. “$350 for a young man’s life.”

After learning that Allen traveled to his father’s apartment on a SEPTA bus, investigators poured over hours of video footage in search of additional clues. Eventually, Hogan said, they found video showing Allen riding on a bus from Norristown to Pottstown. He was not alone, Hogan said.

Allen was with another young man who was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, he also had several visible tattoos. Later that night, the man was seen boarding a bus at the same place he had departed earlier with Allen, but this time he was alone. He was also no longer wearing his hooded sweatshirt, which seemed odd to investigators due to the freezing temperatures on the night of Feb. 12.

Hogan said the man in the video was seen examining his hands and torso, as if he were searching for signs of blood. He was also seen counting a wad of cash.

The video was so clear that investigators were able to obtain clear pictures of the mystery man’s tattoos, and showed them to authorities in Montgomery County in hopes of identifying the him. It worked, Hogan said, and authorities identified the man as Shakeem Carter.

One of Carter’s tattoos is the word “cutthroat” across his throat, with flames rising from the lettering.

In subsequent interviews, Carter told detectives that he had not been on a bus for over a month. He also said that he only “vaguely” knew Allen. Carter’s girlfriend confirmed that he was with Allen on the night of his death, and that the two had boarded a SEPTA bus together headed towards Allen’s father’s apartment.

“We knew we were dealing with someone who was lying to us. The next time we went back to Shakeem Carter, we went back with a search warrant,” Hogan said, holding up a wad of folded bills. “What’s the value of a young man’s life today? $350 sadly is the value of a young man’s life today, and that is a tragedy.”

Carter was charged with murder, arson, robbery, abuse of a corpse, and related crimes, Hogan said. He was taken to Chester County Prison without bail. According to court records, Carter was released on parole for theft charges in January, just over a month before Allen’s death.